


overheating

by wintersofts



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, It's ambiguous, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Relationship, set between chapters 18 and 19, the sauna is a plot point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22138108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersofts/pseuds/wintersofts
Summary: Byleth suffers a moment of weakness, and Dimitri is there to help.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 9
Kudos: 186





	overheating

**Author's Note:**

> un-beta'd for right now...!

On his way to the training grounds, Dimitri hears a faint moan of pain, followed by a plaintive cry for help that stops him square in his tracks. 

It could only be the wind whistling and playing tricks with his mind. But the monastery comes with phantoms of its own, shades of all those who died as a sacrifice to Edelgard’s ambition. Ghosts are not easily silenced, in his experience. Dimitri is more familiar with them than most; his own spectres continue to hover at the edges of his vision, flitting in and out of existence. He’s learned to live with them, begun the slow uphill climb to redemption. Learned, too, that he is _not_ beholden to their demands, that he is not required to act—

But the pleas for help do not fade. Resigned, Dimitri follows the sound past the dormitories, up the stairs, only to find Byleth seated on the top step, red-faced and gripping onto the edge for dear life. Strands of sweat-dampened hair are plastered to her forehead. Sweeping them back at the sight of him, Byleth sighs in relief. “Dimitri,” she says, like a prayer. “You’re here.” 

He’s seen different sides of Byleth over the many months they have spent in each other’s company: grieving, furious, gentle, bloody and bruised, wreathed in otherworldly _divine_ power, but never has he seen her this weak. Dimitri rips off one glove and presses the back of his hand to her forehead. It… is warm. Too warm; her skin is burning. “Professor? Are you feeling unwell?” Should he rush her to the infirmary? 

“I was in the sauna and,” she tips her head back to meet his eyes, baring an expanse of pale throat colored pink by the heat. He averts his gaze; there is much to draw his attention from his professor in a compromising position, such as the drab brown stone of the steps and… more brown stone. “I kept adding water.” Unaware, Byleth waves him closer, her movements sluggish and unsure. “Too much steam.” 

“Professor…” Dimitri is at a loss for words. Of all the faux pas he could’ve imagined Byleth committing, nearly killing herself in the sauna would not be high on the list. He avoids the place if he can help it; nothing can convince Dimitri to willingly submit himself to such conditions. 

With imminent fear for Byleth’s life waning, laughter bubbles in his chest at the circumstances. Really, the professor can be unintentionally adorable at times. He wonders how long she’s been out here, waiting for someone to pass by. 

“Don’t laugh,” she all but begs. “ _Please_.” 

He withdraws his hand from her forehead. “So you overheated in the sauna.” It seems Byleth is prone to human folly as much as the rest of them. The thought is reassuring, in a sense. 

“Yes,” she says desperately, her fingers winding into the fur of his cloak to remain steady. “And I couldn’t drag myself back to my quarters without feeling like the earth was shifting underneath my feet, and so I have been _stuck_.” 

“Naturally, as one often is.”

“I am the head of the _church_ ,” she whispers, more to herself than to Dimitri. “I can’t be seen like this.”

“You won’t. I’m here for you, Professor.” Dimitri helps her climb to her feet, but Byleth’s legs are unsteady. She pitches forward, then grips his outstretched arms to stay upright. He’s struck momentary by how small she is, for someone with a presence larger than life itself. Her shadow may have loomed over him for five long years, but here, she feels fragile. Fallible. Dimitri is suddenly relieved that of all the people in the monastery, it is _he_ who found her in this state. “Why were you using the sauna alone?” 

“It helps soothe all the aches and pains I seem to enjoy collecting,” she says with a grimace. He can see faded bruises underneath the healthy pink glow of her skin, scars both faded and fresh winding up her arms, disappearing down her back. “And it’s the only place I can find some peace. I didn’t want to leave.” Byleth shudders. “Seteth was searching for me earlier with some official documents in hand and I…”

Dimitri nods solemnly. He would do the same. There is always paperwork to greet him wherever he goes these days. Paperwork, logistics, duties he’s shirked for too long that can no longer be avoided. “I will keep your secret.”

“ _Good_.” Byleth pulls out of his arms and takes a deep breath before going down a step—and almost tips over. Surely would have, had Dimitri not grabbed her by the waist and hauled her back. She closes her eyes. “Please help me back to my room.” 

“Shall I carry you?” he asks dryly. Half a joke, because he _will_ carry her if the need arises. Byleth is light; it would not be overly taxing. 

“That won’t be necessary, Your Highness.” Byleth seems mortified at the thought. “Save it for your future wife.” 

“Professor, the less we speak on that subject, the better.” 

Dimitri slips his hand around her waist for support, while Byleth’s hand fists in the folds of his cloak. Only a small slip of fabric separates them. He never noticed how… _thin_ the sauna outfits are. Byleth’s body still radiates heat from all the steam. Dimitri waits for it to become unbearably unpleasant, but it never does. 

“Next time, Professor, invite me so I can keep an eye on you,” he says, as they descend the steps in tandem. It is awkward and cumbersome, but Dimitri is determined to help Byleth reach her quarters safely and does not loosen his grip.

She laughs, a throaty sound he’s sure to think about for days to come. “You want to keep an eye on me in the sauna?”

Dimitri’s face grows warm. “I did not intend to imply anything improper.” Byleth is still the temporary leader of the church and his former professor besides, and Dimitri is a future king, and even if he did entertain some idle fantasies—infatuations he’d held five years ago—they’re bound to amount to nothing. 

“I thought you hated the heat,” she says after a short pause. Her steps are steadier now, less shaky, but she doesn’t let go of Dimitri even so. 

That much is true. He despises it, but he does care about Byleth’s well-being. It’s worth a little discomfort to ensure she doesn’t do something reckless or, barring that, simply faints in the sauna instead of outside it. “I can endure.”

“I wouldn’t want you to endure something unpleasant for me,” Byleth says quietly. 

“Time spent with you could never be unpleasant.” The admission is instinctual, natural, said with enough fondness to make Byleth pause and look up at him, her eyes wide and questioning. There is much Dimitri wants to say, but he swallows it and thinks— _someday_ , but not now. 

They reach the bottom of the stars. “Sweet talker,” she says, turning away. Byleth’s quarters are only a short distance away, but she pulls away and gives Dimitri a grateful smile. “I can make the rest of the way on my own.” The rest of the way is a few steps, hardly a great distance, but Dimitri is reluctant to let her go. 

“Your face is still red, Professor.” 

Byleth shifts her weight from one foot to another. “It’s not from the heat,” she says. “I’ll be fine.” Before he can ask further questions, Byleth heads for her quarters and shuts the door behind her. Dimitri wonders what she meant by that, then decides it might be best for him not to know. 

As he departs, perhaps Dimitri feels a little hot as well. 

**Author's Note:**

> the first and only time i went to sauna i almost collapsed because i stayed in there too long. #truestory.
> 
> i genuinely did not mean to be back with another offering so soon, but today's my last day of vacation and the sauna is such a fun game mechanic that this... happened? one day'll write something more substantial for these two, fingers crossed.


End file.
